Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon computer science professor best known for his "last lecture," died today after a 22-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
On September 18, 2007, Mr. Pausch delivered what would become one of the most viral hits on the internet, receiving hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and other platforms in a matter of hours. In it, Pausch celebrated his life - his fulfilled childhood dreams - instead of his imminent death.
Watch the Randy Pausch Last Lecture Video:
On Randy Pausch's Book:
Following Pausch's lecture, Wall Street Journal reporter, Jeffrey Zaslow, wrote a piece for the Journal, subsequently publishing the book, The Last Lecture, which topped best-seller lists in April.
Compliments of The Independent UK, here's a nice compilation of quotes from Randy Pausch's last lecture, "Really Acheiving Your Childhood Dreams."
Enjoy, remember, and share your own tributes to Randy Pausch:
"It's wonderful to be here. What they didn't tell you is that this lecture series used to be called 'The Last Lecture'. If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be? I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it."
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. If I don't seem as depressed as I should be, sorry to disappoint you. I assure you I am not in denial. It's not like I'm not aware of what's going on... The other thing is that I am in phenomenally good health right now. I mean, it's the greatest thing of cognitive dissonance you will ever see: the fact that I am in really good shape. In fact, I am in better shape than most of you. [Pausch starts doing push-ups.] So anybody who wants to cry or pity me can get down and do a few of those."
"How do you get people to help you? By telling the truth. Being earnest. I'll take an earnest person over a hip person every day, because hip is short-term."
"Apologise when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself. How do I make a concrete example of that? See, yesterday was my wife's birthday. If there was ever a time I might be entitled to have the focus on me, it might be the last lecture. But no, I feel very badly that my wife didn't really get a proper birthday, and I thought it would be very nice if 500 people... [a birthday cake is wheeled on to the stage]."
"Remember, brick walls let us show our dedication. They are there to separate us from the people who don't really want to achieve their dreams. Don't bail. The best of the gold's at the bottom of barrels of crap."
"Show gratitude. When I got tenure I took all of my research team down to Disney World for a week. And one of the other professors said, 'How can you do that?' I said: 'These people just busted their ass and got me the best job in the world for life. How could I not do that?'"
"Don't complain. Just work harder [shows slide of Jackie Robinson, the first black major league baseball player]. It was in his contract not to complain, even when fans spit on him."
